The Agenda

Courtesy of Public Library of Science

GOT VIRUS, NO VACCINE » If you've got viruses on the brain - thanks to Ari Hellenius's research using viruses ("The Orange and the Circus Tent") and the Hot Paper on HIV (Impeding PD-1) - tune in to the AIDS Vaccine 2008 meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, Oct. 13-16. If you can't go there yourself, check out the conference Web site (http://tinyurl.com/55kf6b) for information about speakers, including Lawrence Corey and Robert Gallo.

GOT DEVICE, NO MONEY » Do you have a medical device, but not enough investors? Attend the first Medical Device Investor Day on Oct. 22 in Boston. After a keynote address from David Cassak of Windhover Information (in our feature on medical devices, "Biotech's Hidden Stepsister"), you'll hear from 15 investors about what they're looking for (http://tinyurl.com/5nhuns).

GOT SPOTLIGHT, NO US VISA » It's the 25th anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act ("The Orphan Drug Act Turns 25"), and rare diseases are getting a lot of attention. Europe, too, is hosting several conferences this month about the diseases, including osteogenesis imperfecta and Rett Syndrome, in Rome, Paris, Warsaw, and Ghent. For more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/5lmgdh.

GOT WORK, NO ONE TO DO IT » After finding out if contract research organizations (CROs) are a good fit for you ("Life in a 'Rent-a-Lab'"), head on over to Frankfurt, Germany, for a global exhibition on pharmaceutical outsourcing: The 2008 International Contract Services Expo, Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. Now in its 8th year, the ICSE is a meeting place for pharmaceutical companies and the agencies to which they are looking to outsource (http://www.icsexpo.com/).